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... BY THE AUTHOR OF . . , 

"The Wise Barber in Clyde," 

*« To Shave or Not to Shave," 

Etc., Etc. 




COMPLIMENTS OF THE 

AUG. KERN BARBERS' SUPPLY CO. 

No. 114 NORTH BROADWAY, 
SAINT LOUIS. 



\ 



C. B. WOOW.RD CO., ST- LOUIS. 









1 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1893, 

by the Aug. Kern Barbers' Supply Co., St. Louis, 

Mo., in the office of the Librarian of 

Congress, at Washington. 



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IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 

[VERY little while some would-be 
humorist speaks of the barber as a 
"Tonsorial Artist," of his establish- 
ment as an " Art Parlor ' ' or an 
"Artists' Studio," and at times he 
varies his jokes (?) by calling him a 
"Professor" or "Sculptor," etc. 

We appreciate humorous articles, respect all descent 
comic journals and enjoy a good joke, even if at our expense, 
but we protest against stale jokes by would-be " Bill Nyes " 
who, from sheer ignorance of their subject, aim to speak 
sarcastically and in derision of the barber, when with a poor 
attempt at wit they ironically bestow on him epithets, which 
may be seriously applied to him, with all due respect for his 
profession. 

In all occupations there are members with various degrees 
of skill to be found, and the saying: " Poets are born, not 
made," holds good also to some extent with barbers, for some 
show a talent and aptitude for their work far superior to 
others, but all barbers who, by diligent efforts, have achieved 
a certain degree of proficiency in their occupation, merit the 
respect due to the highest profession. 

That there are a few dissolute and reckless individuals 
to be found in that profession, is unfortunately not to be denied, 
as is even the case with painters, sculptors, musicians and all 
other members of artistic professions, but the per cent is 
fortunately small, for, as a rule they are an intelligent, manly 



IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 



class, who generally aim to cultivate the mind, make in- 
tellectual researches whenever their time permits it, study hard 
and are a credit to their profession. But are they artists? 

Let us consult various authorities on the term "Artist," 
to see where the barber's profession belongs : Webster says 
of Art that it is from the Latin "ARS," artis, and was prob- 
ably contracted from the root Welsh "Cert," Irish "Ceard." 

(1) The radical sense is strength, from stretching, strain- 
ing, the primary sense of strength and power and hence of 
skill. 

(2) Cunning ; skill. 

(3) A system of rules, serving to facilitate the perform- 
ance of certain actions ; opposed to science, or to speculative 
principles ; as the art of building or engraving. Arts are 
divided into useful or mechanic, and liberal or polite. The 
mechanic arts are those in which the hands and body are more 
concerned than the mind, as in making clothes and utensils. 
These arts are called trades. The liberal or polite arts are 
those in which the mind or imagination is chiefly concerned, 
as poetry, music, and painting. 

(4) Business or employment, as, the various arts of life. 

(5) Skill, dexterity, or the power of performing certain 
actions, acquired by experience, stud)', or observations ; as, 
a man has the art of managing his business to advantage. 

Worcester's definition of "Art" is: Practical skill; a 
trade; artifice. Bacon says: "Art is the disposition or 
modification of things by human skill, to answer the purpose 
intended." In this sense art stands opposed to nature. So 
much for the definition of art. Now for the meaning of 
artist. Zell defines an artist as one who is skilled in the 
exercise of any of the liberal arts, such as painting, 



IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 



sculpture, music, etc. ; the professor of any liberal or mechan- 
ical art. The term is especially applied to those who 
follow painting and sculpture as a profession ; the other 
arts being commonly designated by a term taken from the art 
to which they are devoted ; as a musician, a literateur, etc. 
By Paracelsus it is used to signify a chemist or rather alchemist. 
In an extended sense, the term artist is frequently applied to 
a person skilled in any art, as a hair dresser, etc. In this 
case, artist is commonly written with the French spelling, 
"artiste." Dryden defines the term artist: "In a general 
sense, one who is skilled in the practice of some art." 

Elmer says : "The term is particularly applied to painters, 
sculptors, engravers, and architects." 

Thus it would seem at first thought that the barber could 
be termed an artist only in an extended sense, and this would 
be spelled "artiste." In a general sense, according to 
Dryden, we see that anyone who is skilled in the practice of 
some art is an artist ; and since Webster classifies art as either 
the "useful or mechanic," or "liberal and polite," and says 
that the liberal or polite arts are : " poetry, music and paint- 
ing ; ' ' the barber would at a superficial glance seem not to be 
classed with these artists. 

Edmund Burke, in his "Treatise on the Sublime and 
Beautiful," says: "Art can never give the rules that make 
an art." It follows then, that we can not take mere definitions 
for this, but must discover by comparisons. Let us, therefore, 
make careful comparisons between the barber's occupation 
and that of the portrait painter, sculptor, or designer. 

Pope, in his "Essay on Criticism," says: 

"One science only will one genious fit; 
So vast is art, so narrow human wit." 



IvS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 



And with this idea of the vastness of art all will agree 
who give the subject a careful thought, and will be easily 
convinced, that there are designers who do not merely repro- 
duce their ideas on canvass or carve them in stone. If we 
admit with Pope, the narrowness of human wit as compared 
with art, we must acknowledge also the vast field occupied 
by art ; hence should concede that art is not confined merely 
to painters, sculptors and musicians, and that if the sculptor 
or painter can be, not only equaled, but outdone by any pro- 
fession, the members of that profession must also be truly 
entitled to the term artists. 

The sculptor conceives an idea, but to develop this idea, 
to give it tangibility, he must have a model to copy after ; if 
he has a talent for bringing this idea into existence, and is 
fortunate in finding the proper model, he may develop an 
excellent statue. This is science, taste, genius ; but after all, 
the statue does not live. 

If the sculptor could call the block of stone into life by 
shaping it and chiseling at it, how much more wonderful this 
would be. Or, if he could even conceive an idea in his brain 
and give it shape, could produce this idea in stone or clay, 
without a model to work by, would he not achieve still greater 
renown? Still more so, if the sculptor could take a living 
subject and change its appearance from a crude, unsightly 
looking object, to one of attraction, would this not far outdo 
the sculptor of stone or moulder of clay ? And would a 
person of such achievements be less an artist than the sculptor 
or painter? The portrait painter takes a piece of canvas, 
some paints and brushes, and with a special aptitude, careful 
selection of colors and shading, and with a good model to 
copy from, or work by, produces a counterfeit image which all 
but lives ! But, like the sculptor's work, it too stops at that. 



IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 



If he could do this with objects that live, could he not achieve 
far greater renown, and would he be less an artist than the 
mere reproducer of objects on canvas ? 

It is clear, then, that an)' one capable of operating on 
living subjects and achieving results almost, if not quite, as 
startling as the sculptor's or painter's, must be fully as much 
entitled to be termed an artist as they are, if not more so ; for 
his occupation, besides being fully as artistic, is undoubtedly 
more useful. We shall now call out : Next ! ! ! And as it is 
the barber's turn, let us see what claim he has to being an 
artist. 

An old saying has it that nature harmonizes everything, 
giving every man the correct color of hair, eyes, etc., and in 
fact all that best suits him, and that any attempt to improve 
in this on nature must fail. On remarking this to a Mr. 
Tuits in New York, who was having his hair and beard dyed, 
he replied : ' ' Then nature must have intended me for a zebra 
or spotted leopard, for my hair and beard usually come out in 
three or four colors and only the work of the barber's art can 
overcome the gifts of nature in my case sufficiently well to 
make me appear human." And, strange to say, when nature 
was left to look after his hair and beard, they soon grew to 
make him appear a perfect oddity and a fright, yet when his 
barber operated on him for a short time, he looked quite 
handsome and intellectual. Here begins our claim for the 
barber as an artist. 

Who can not recall to his mind some instance of a remark- 
able transformation where the work of the barber or hair- 
dresser so completely improved the looks of some one that the 
work gave evidence of a skill that only an artist can have ? 
Most of us have read the story told of the late P. T. Barnum, 



IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 



who stepped into a barber's shop, found a long row of persons 
waiting, and being in great haste offered to the man whose 
turn was next, and who happened to be a son of Erin, with 
strawberry blonde hair, to pay his turn if he would let him 
take his place. This offer was accepted and Pat had to take 
his turn to be served after the last man then in the shop. 
While the bill sent to Mr. Barnum for Pat's turn was over 
three dollars, it seems it was quite well worth it, for it was said 
it completely changed Pat so that his wife scarcely knew him, 
and all this was accomplished by the barber's art. 

Young says : ' ' The course of nature is the art of God. ' ' 
Since, then, the barber can seemingly change the course of 
nature, is he not truly an artist? For, although Shakespeare, 
in Macbeth, says: " There is no art to find the mind's con- 
struction in the face," yet the barber with his art can put an 
excellent construction on some otherwise homely faces. The 
barber places his subject in the chair, he has no model to 
work by, has only his artistic skill and taste to aid him, and 
frequently takes an awkward, untidy looking individual and 
so shapes his beard and hair that he makes an intelligent and 
refined looking man of him, and this is a subject that actually 
lives, no clay or stone, no mere colors on canvas in imitation 
of a living being. Can any professional skill do more ? 

Shakespeare says : ' ' The art of our necessities is strange 
that can make vile things precious." What, then, would he 
call the barber's performance when he makes homely men 
attractive? Surely, Shakespeare would pronounce him an 
artist. There is, to sum it up, this difference between the 
sculptor or portrait painter, and the barber: The former takes 
a crude block of stone or color and brushes, and with the aid 
of a model to work by and to copy after, produces an excellent 



IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 



image of a living being, while the latter takes an uncouth 

living being and evolves out of his mind a plan, by which to 

beautify this living subject, without a model to copy after. 

Irving says: "In America, literature and the elegant 

arts must grow up side by side with the coarser plants of daily 

necessity," And one of the elegant arts is surely cultivated 

by the barber, whose mission is to beautify and refine 

humanity ; and this art has become, with us, a daily necessity. 

This is why we claim that the barber is an artist in the strict 

meaning of the word, and that we can say of the would-be 

humorist with the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson : 

"He builded better than he knew; 
The conscious stone to beauty grew." 

The barber need not mind the sarcastic remarks ; they 

can not detract from his respectable calling, nor does he want 

any flattery, for he does not need it ; but he may well request,. 

with the words of Shakespeare's Othello: 

" vSpeak of me as I am ; 
Nothing extenuate, 
Nor set down aught in malice." 



8 IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 

THE BARBER'S AUXILIARY. 

Ordinal work may be done with ordinary tools, but for 
skilled work the best tools to be had are most desirable, and 
as the barber's time is valuable, it is poor economy on his 
part to buy inferior razors or shears ; the best are alwa)^s the 
cheapest, and for this reason he should see that the name 
"August Kern " and the words " Blue Steel " appear on all 
razors and shears he uses. 

Thomas Gibbons says : 

"That man ma)- last, but never lives, 
Who much receives, but nothing gives ; 
Whom none can love, whom none can thank, 
Creation's blot, creation's blank." 

But who would be such a man ? Surely ever)' man would 
rather merit and receive the thanks of some one than to be 
disliked by all. Even if it paid just as well to be disagreeable 
as to be obliging, who is there that would not rather see his 
customers go away pleased than dissatisfied, even if he knew 
they were compelled to return ? But business is so transacted, 
at the close of this nineteenth century, that customers do not 
have to go where they are not treated in the most agreeable 
manner ; they can select the most accommodating places, and 
therefore it pays to be agreeable, and to do all in our power 
to make business transactions mutually pleasant, even if it 
costs a trifle more to do so. And this brings us to our favorite 
subject, the Blue Steel Razor. A barber may have in his 
shop a number of razors that will do fairly well, but if for a 
few dollars he can get a Blue Steel Razor that can always be 
kept in perfect condition, that will shave persons in the most 
satisfactory manner, is it not policy to bu} T it ? The manu- 
facture of Blue Steel Razors is superintended by men so well 
versed in this branch of science, who make it their greatest 



IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 



aim to reach as near perfection as can be done, who employ 
the most skilful men, use the most carefully selected steel, 
and direct the greatest attention to tempering each blade, as 
well as the grinding ; every razor being full concaved or 
hollow ground, which every barber knows is as important a 
factor in a razor as the metal itself. Combining all these 
important points makes the Blue Steel Razor truly- a marvel 
of workmanship, so that it can justly be termed : "A Prince" 
among razors. Considering all this, is it not economy to pay 
the slight advance charged for it over ordinary razors ? 
Especially if one thinks of the satisfaction the best tools 
always give to the man in his profession. For such instru- 
ments not only produce a pleasing effect on the occupant of 
the chair, but save much time to the barber as they require so 
little care and attention. The accompanying cut on page 10 
gives but a faint idea of the Blue Steel Razor, for like all 
articles of true merit, it " must be seen to be appreciated." 



IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 



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IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST? 



BLUE STEEL SHEARS. 

What we have said of the preparation of the Blue Steel 
Razors holds good also of our Blue Steel Shears. Every 
barber knows the value of good shears. The cut on page 11 
endeavors to show the Blue Steel Shears. 



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IS THE BARBER AN ARTIST ? 



TO SEE OURSELVES AS OTHERS SEE US." 



What a pleasing effect it makes on one to get into a barber's 
chair where he can rest with comfort while being shaved or 
having his hair cut, can be better experienced by the customers 
than by the barber. Could barbers always know the good 
effect this produces they would not object to the slight cost 
to get the best chairs. The following cut shows our Eclipse 
Chair, but our catalogue for 1893 gives a complete list of them 
and will be mailed on application. 

It would be useless to undertake a detailed description of 
our chairs in this limited space, nor can the illustration 
convey any idea of its convenience and beauty of finish. 
Briefly stated, the Eclipse Chairs combine ingenuity of design, 
solidness of construction, beauty of finish, and embrace all 
the latest improvements that experience and careful study 
could suggest. Made either of Walnut or Antique Oak. 

We make this Chair in four different styles, ranging in 
price from $28 to $60 each. 




ECLIPSE CHAIRS. 

(best on earth.) 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 148 432 1 • 




